Videos: Swampscott Sunday Softball Tradition Continues

Perfect softball weather greeted players Sunday morning at Phillips Park as the Sunday Softball group kicked off their 2011 season.

Men and women have been getting together to play ball since the first game took place after World War II ended.

“People were looking for an activity, a sport, to play on the weekends when the war ended, and many of them loved softball, so they got together and started playing organized games,” Jack Gould said.

Gould will be 80 years old later this month and has no plans to hang up the glove and the spikes anytime soon.

“Oh yea, I’ve got another 20 years of playing softball in me,” Gould said. “Nineteen anyway, that’s for sure.”

“People were looking to get some exercise, have some fun, and do things as a group, and you really can’t get a better activity than softball to do all those things.”

“Harvey Greenberg, David Goldberg, those are just a few of the guys who helped get Sunday Softball going, but it would be difficult to name everyone who helped keep this going for over fifty years,” Gould said.

Jack first hit the field on a Sunday morning in June of 1988, so his 23 years with Sunday Softball mean he’s practically a rookie.

Glenn Kessler’s office on Humphrey Street looks out on the diamonds at Phillips Park, and he’s been playing for the past 15 years with Sunday Softball. Kessler, one of many who help Gould run the program, was umpiring Sunday morning while he recovers from a wrist injury received during a ski trip this past winter.

“We’ve got a great group of people that come out to play on Sundays,” Kessler said while he was lined up behind first base.  “There’s really nothing better than spending a nice Sunday morning playing softball.”

Gould has played the role of Bud Selig for Sunday Softball since 1995, and lists his title as general manager and head of public relations for S. S. S.

Over one thousand players have hit the field since Sunday Softball began, one Aaron Cohen, played in Swampscott for six seasons before heading to Israel this year. Gould said Cohen has already hooked up with a softball team in Israel.

“He’s already sent me e-mails asking about game results here, so I’ll be keeping him updated on Sunday Softball all summer,” Gould said. “He pitched well for us when he was playing here in town.”

The games were originally played in Lynn, at O’Connor Field, the group moved to Gatchell’s Playground in Marblehead before Phillips Park became “home” in the 1970’s.

“It feels good when the sun hits my face on the field, and it really feels good when you snatch your first fly ball of the season for an out, really, it’s a lot of fun,” outfielder Ron Myerow said.

“Summer’s here now, we’ve got sunshine, we’ve got softball, as long as the Bruins keep winning, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Myerow said when he was selecting a bat.

Games are held every Sunday morning at Phillips Park, you can reach Jack Gould at jackgould12@comcast.net, if you’d like to play or pull up a chair on the grass and see the Sunday Softball group “play with pride.”

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